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Origin and history

The House of the former direction of the PTT, located at 38 rue Vinchon in Laon, is a mansion built in the seventeenth century. Originally, it served as an urban refuge for the monks of Cuissy Abbey, offering them a place of residence when they travelled to town. This type of townhouse was common for religious orders, allowing them to manage their temporal affairs while remaining close to their rural properties.

Acquired in Year IV (1795-1796) by Madame Melleville after the French Revolution, the house changed its vocation over the centuries. In the 19th or 20th century, it will house the services of PTT (Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones), marking its adaptation to modern administrative needs. Only the porch and vantals, a remarkable architectural element, were included in the inventory of historic monuments by order of May 2, 1927, bearing witness to their heritage value.

Sources available, including the book Through Jean Marquiset's old Laon (1902), confirm its importance in the local heritage. Today, although partially protected, the house illustrates the evolution of the uses of a historical building, moving from religious to administrative, while preserving traces of its medieval and classical past. The accuracy of its location (29 or 38 rue Vinchon) varies according to the sources, reflecting the challenges of documentation of ancient monuments.

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